Paper pulp



(N0 Mo H. J. ROGERS. MACHINE FOR STRAINING PAPER PULP. No. 464,725. Patented Dec. 8, 1891.

I him W n L Nrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY JOHN ROGERS, OF IVATFORD, ENGLAND.

MACHINE FOR STRAINING PAPER-PULP SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 464,725, dated December 8, 1891.

Application filed December 20, 1888. Serial No. 294,345. (No model.) Patented in England March 18, 1887, No. 4,073; in Belgium May 16, 1887, No. 77,477, and in France May 17,1887,No.183,626.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HENRY JOHN ROGERS,

a citizen of Great Britain, residing at lVatford,

in England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Straining Paper-Pulp, (for which Letters Patent have been obtainedin Great Britain,No. 4,07 3, dated March 18, 1887; in France, No. 183,626, dated May 17, 1887, and in Belgium, No. 7 7 ,477 dated May 16, 1887;) and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to machines or apparatus for straining various materials for use in the arts and more especially for straining paper-pulp in the manufacture of paper, and it relates more particularly to the means for imparting a pulsating motion to the pulp to cause the same to be thoroughly strained, and to the construction of the strainer-plates.

My invention has for its primary objects to provide a machine of this class which is simple in its construction and which is adapted to effectively strain the paper-pulp or other material and prevent the impurities strained from the same from again becoming mixed therewith and also to dispense with the use of a cleaning device for removing the impurities from the strainer-plates.

Another important object of my invention is to so construct the strainer-plates that the same can be very readily re'closed when necessary without requiring very much pressure to effect this, as is ordinarily the case.

WVith the above-recited objects in view my invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation, partly in section, of my improved machine. Figs. 2 and 8 are perspective dctail views showing different means for attaching the strainer-plate to the supporting-frame.

I-Ieretofore in machines of this class it has sometimes been the custom to employ strainer-plates which are perfectly fiat upon their upper or wearing surface and to arrange said plates horizontally in the machine. This,

however, entails numerous disadvantages,

principally among which is the tendency of the foreign matter strained from the material to be retained upon the upper surface of the plate and gradually become disintegrated and find its way through the slits of the strainerplates into the strained pulp, whereby the paper produced therefrom will contain numerous specks or particles which greatly depreciate the value of the paper. Furthermore, plates so constructed require considerable pressure to effect the reclosing of the same and also necessitate the employment of a cleaning device for removing the dirt or foreign matter strained from the pulp from the surface of the plates.

By my construction of plate and the arrangement of the same in the machine the above-enumerated disadvantages are obviated, as will fully appear hereinafter.

I will first describe the construction of my strainer-plates and the means for attaching them to a backing or support, reference being had to Figs. 2 and 3 of the'drawings.

I take a flat plate a, of any suitable metalsuch as copper, brass, phosphor-bronze, &c.

and of the proper thickness and dimensions,

and form therein a number of corrugations b,

forming a series of alternate depressions and elevations upon the upper and lower surfaces of the plate, as shown. Said corrugations may be formed either by stamping with dies or by using suitable rolls, or the plate may be cast with the corrugations therein, if desired. In each of the elevations upon the upper side of the plate is formed a narrow slit 0, through which the pulp is strained, said slits being formed by any suitable means and in any desired manner. The plate a, as thus formed, is now secured to a metallic framing or support d in any suitable manner. I, however, prefer to employ either of the means shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In Fig. 2 the plate av is divided into sections, the edge of one section overlapping the adjacent edge of the next section, and said sections are secured to the frame (Z by means of rivets or bolts f. In Fig. 3 the plate a is also made in sections and the adja cent ends thereof bent down and entering transverse grooves cut in the frame, and a molten alloy f that will expand upon cooling, is run into said grooves in the frame and serves when hardened as a key for securing the plate-sections to the frame and effects a rigid joint.

The advantages of the described construc tion of strainer-plate over those which are made perfectly flat are obvious, but may be enumerated as follows: First, the corrugated plate is considerably stronger than afiat plate of the same thickness; secondly, it can be reclosed when the slits become enlarged from use with the use of but little pressure; thirdly, the dirt or other foreign matter which cannot pass through the slits will gravitate into the depressions 011 the upper side of the plate and will. not become disintegrated, and, fourthly, by reason of the upper and lower surfaces of the plate being formed of gentle undulations or curves, the formation of hanks or knots is avoided.

The strainer-plate described is adapted for use in any of the present forms of strainers, such as flat, suction, jog, or revolving strainers. \Vhen used in revolving knotters or strainers, I slit both the upper and lower corrugations when the length of fiber is suitable, so as to give double the area of slitted surface, and this plate maybe used in flat strainers, if a very large area of slittcd surface is desired; but in this case the corrugations will no longer act as dirt-arresters.

Instead of dividing the plate a into sections, as shown, the same may be allowed to remain in one piece and secured to the framing in any desired manner, as will be understood.

I will nowdescribe the construction of my machine, together with the arrangement of the strainer plates above described therein.

A indicates the frame of the machine, of any suitable construction, upon the legs or standards a of which is supported the vat or trough A, within which the strainer-plates are to be arranged and secured. In arranging said strainer-plates within the trough I prefer to incline them from the ends of the trough toward the center thereof, as shown, instead of horizontally, as generally practiced. This I do for the reason that the dirt or other foreign matter strained from the pulp will during the operation of the machine gradually gravitate along the plates toward the center of the trough, whence it will be discharged through an opening provided for the purpose, thus also obviating the employment of a cleaning device for removing the dirt from the plates. In Fig. 1 I have shown the plates CL so arranged, said plates being supported upon a ledge or flange (L2 on the sides of the trough and arms a, rising from the bottom of the trough at the center thereof. Beneath each of the plates a, at a sufficient distance there from to allow of a free passage of the pulp to the paper-machine, is arranged a diaphragm g, of rubber or other flexible or elastic material, which is secured in position by means of strips g, between which and the flanges g g of the trough the edges of the diaphragms are secured. The latter, as will be seen, also partake of an inclination corresponding to that of the plates.

Near the bottom of the trough, at the center thereof, I provide an opening Z, which is adapted to serve as a discharge-opening for the dirt and other matter strained from the pulp.

Forthe purpose of imparting the usual pulsating motion to the pulp to cause the same to pass through the slits of the plates employ the following-described means: J indicates a crankshaft having suitable hearings in the frame of the machine, said shaft carrying at one end a belt-pulleyj'. Said crankshaftis provided with two cranks j 7, to each of which is connected one end of a connecting-rod k, which is adapted to operate the vertically-arranged levers Z through the media of the short intermediate links Z. The upper levers are pivotally connected to plates 6, secured to the under side of the diaphragms (1, while the lower levers are pivot-ally connected to arms Z depending from the frame of the machine. For the purpose of guiding the diaphragms in their reciprocating movements guide-rods m are secured at their upper ends to the plates 6 and their lower ends to cross-heads m, each of which has a stem m which is adapted to fit and reciprocate within a socket in the rings m For thepurpose of partially counteracting the downward movement of the diaphragms and making the reciprocating movements thereof smooth and even I provide coiled springs or, which encircle the stems of the cross-heads and hear at their lower ends upon the rings n, which are adapted to be adjusted vertically to adjust the tension of the springs by sorew-bolts m and nuts, as shown. It will be seen that when the pulp is fed into the trough from each end thereof and the crankshaft revolved the levers 1 will be operated to reciprocate the diaphragms and thereby impart a pulsating motion to the pulp, causing the same to be strained tlirough the slits in the strainer-plates and causing it to be fed through the passage between the diaphragms and the plates to the pipe which conducts the pulp to the paper-machine. The dirt strained from the pulp will be left in the depressions on the upper side of the plate and will gradually gravitate to the discharge-opening Z.

It will be obvious that instead of employing two strainer-plates and two diaphragms, together with means for operating the latter, that the machine could readily be altered to adapt it to use but one plate and one diaphragm extending the full length of the trough, and the mechanism for reciprocating the diaphragms be changed in its position relatively to the machine-frame to cause it to properly reciprocate the one diaphragm without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

What I claim is- 1. In a pulp-straining machine, the combh nation, with the pulp-vat, of the framing 01' support Z, supported therein, the strainingplate a, corrugated as described and provided with the slitsc, said plate being made in sections the adjacent edges whereof overlap, and the securing bolt or bolts passing through the lapped edges of the plate-sections and into the support, as described.

2. In a pulp-straining machine, the combination, with the frame of the machine, the trough supported by said frame, the inclined strainer-plates supported within said trough, and the diaphragins arranged below said strainer-plates, of means for reciprocating the diaphragms and guiding the same, consisting of the crank-shaft having its bearings in the machine-frame, the connecting-rods 7c, pivotally connected to the cranks of the crankshaft, the levers Z, the lower ones of which are pivoted to the arms Z of the machine-frame, the intermediate links Z" between the levers and the connecting-rods, the plates 6, secured to the under side of the diaphragms and to which plates the upper levers Z are pivotally connected, the guide-rods 172, secured to said plates and to the cross-heads m, each of which latter has a stem m and the rings m having sockets adapted to receive said stems, as described.

3. In a pulp-straining machine, the combination,'with the frame of the machine, the trough supported by said frame, the inclined strainer-plates supported within said trough, and the diaphragins arranged below said strainer-plates, of means for reciprocating the diaphragms and guiding the same, consistlng of the crank-shaftj,having its bearings in the machine-frame, the connecting-rods k,pivot ally connected to the cranks of the crank-shaft,

the levers Z, the intermediate links Z between the levers and the connectin g-rods, the plates e, secured to the under side of the diaphragms and to which plates the upper levers lare pivotally connected, the guide-rods m, secured to said plates and to the cross-heads 107/, each of which latter has a stem m the rings m having sockets adaptedto receive said stems, the rings 71/, fitted around said stems, the adjusting-bolts m passing through the rings m n, and the coiled springs n, interposed between the rings n and the cross-heads, as and for the purposes specified.

HENRY JOHN ROGERS. \Vitnesses:

E. T. HUGHES, V. HUGHES. 

